


Ablaze

by Kottyss



Category: Original Work
Genre: Boats and Ships, Dystopia, Fire, Gen, Oneshot, Prompt Fill, Wildfires, and a wild take called "environmentalism", another original piece i may or may not continue, can you tell i project my hatred onto the universes of my original works?, for now im just gonna mark it as, this one is about the consequences of capitalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kottyss/pseuds/Kottyss
Summary: Due to climate change, wildfires have razed most habitable land on Earth. In a last-ditch effort to survive, Callum Wake and thousands of others pile themselves onto the Ocean's Pearl, an old cruise liner destined for a floating sanctuary built in the middle of the Pacific. The Sanctuary, as it's called, promises new life to the refugees of the fires.There's just one problem...
Relationships: Callum Wake & Katherine "Kit" Montechristo
Kudos: 3





	Ablaze

**Author's Note:**

> This is another prompt fill that I've been trying to re-work into an actual story! I've got quote a bit of character development set up for Callum, as well as a couple other characters I'm excited to introduce in the next couple of chapters. As always, let me know what you think and how I can improve! Enjoy~

The boy waited anxiously by the edge of the pier, trying to hold his place in the throng of near-frantic people as he was jostled back and forth. Their collective impatience was nearly palpable as the cabin crew worked to dock the ship as quickly as possible; the enormous  _ Ocean’s Pearl _ was already an hour behind schedule, and people were getting desperate to get off the mainland as fast as they could.

He watched as the employees frantically finished tying all their knots and lowering their bridges, and stumbled as the crowd gave a particularly strong shove when one of the men finally opened up the gate. Escape was so close now; he could nearly taste it. He kept his head down as he followed the flow of the crowd towards the bridges that would bring them onto the ship. Eyes trained on soot-covered shoes, the boy was careful not to step on or bump into anybody hard enough to upset them. He was so close; the last thing he needed was to be taken out of line for causing any disturbance now.

He heard one particularly disgruntled man mutter something under his breath, something to the effect of; _Running from the damn land itself …can’t believe it’s come to this shit…_ and snorted humourlessly to himself. That was the exact problem that had gotten them all there, wasn’t it? No one could ever believe it was time to take desperate measures until everything was literally going up in flames. Nobody in power wanted to listen to the people telling them that it was time to get up and do something because nobody would believe that it had come to that already. Nobody had _wanted_ to believe.

Some people blamed greed; big companies and governments taking whatever they wanted, however they wanted, and forgetting about any consequences. Other people blamed pure laziness; better solutions were always so much harder to reach, and this is the way things have always been done anyway, so why change? The boy didn’t think it really mattered either way. At the end of the day, every single one of them had dismissed all the signs until it was far too late to go back. No matter whose fault it was, they were well past the point of no return, and now they had to pay the price. They said this was the best option for the time being; get far enough away from the land that they could at least breathe properly again, and regroup to come up with any possible last-ditch measures to save whatever part of the world there was left to save.

As he finally reached the front of the line, he presented his ID to the ship hand as instructed, who gave it a quick once-over before announcing, “Callum Wake, welcome aboard.” The boy - Callum - watched as she then placed his ID into a large box with all the others. It seemed strange, but it was nothing he hadn’t been expecting. They would all be receiving new ID cards upon reaching the Sanctuary, anyway.

He climbed the bridge and ducked through the tiny doorway into the boat, looking around as an employee stationed inside handed Callum a key card and a piece of paper with his room number, along with a list of important places on the ship, such as the rations hall and the public latrines. It seemed as though the _Ocean’s Pearl_ had been a lofty cruise liner prior to its repurposing. Even without all the shining lights or fancy people strolling around within the ship, Callum could tell exactly how luxurious the boat had been in its prime; the unlit chandeliers dripping in crystals, the brass, silver and gold decorating every door and porthole, even the couches looked to be plush leather, underneath all the duffle bags and coats covering them. Why anyone would think to bring a coat at a time like this, however, was way beyond him.

Callum himself hadn’t even bothered to pack anything more than a light backpack; a couple changes of clothes along with a phone charger and some money. Not that he’d have much use for the money here, but maybe when he got to the Sanctuary.

The PA system screeched overhead before a woman’s voice came through, announcing herself to be captain and informing all the passengers that they were at capacity and would set off en route to the Sanctuary shortly. Callum adjusted his backpack on his shoulder before looking at the paper the employee had given him, and then making his way through the now-packed lobby towards stairs to take him in the direction of his room.

Four floors up and several narrow hallways later, Callum swiped his key card and made his way into what would be his room for the duration of the journey. He wondered how long that would be; no one had actually bothered to mention how many days they would be on their glorified lifeboat for.

Looking around the small space, Callum found that he was lucky enough to get a room that came with an accompanying balcony, overlooking the ocean and the harbour as the ship began to push off and out to sea. Opening the door, he stepped out onto the balcony, and looked out at the world humanity had destroyed piece by piece.

The docks were still covered in people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, smudges of grey on the black asphalt. Beyond them, the outline of what was left of the city stood against the ash-coloured sky. Crumbled buildings that were only a few shades darker than the sky itself were a grim reminder of exactly why they all had to leave. But it wasn’t like the earthquakes or hurricanes were really the biggest problems, anyway. No, it was what lay beyond the city that really had everyone terrified, that drove them to seek refuge in the sea.

Callum looked past the city and to the red, glowing lands just behind it. The forests that had been burning for nearly a month now were filling the air with enough smoke and ash to suffocate anyone who got too close, and coated every surface and living thing it could find with a layer of soot. As was the case in many parts of the world now, the land had become completely uninhabitable. Crops couldn’t get enough sunlight to grow through the clouds of smoke, and livestock either starved or suffocated to death. People were being displaced from their homes at an ever-increasing rate, and the Sanctuary was really the only hope any of them had left.

Like himself, many people had camped outside for days before finally getting onto a ship. A group of loud individuals tried to tell them that they were crazy; this was very clearly the end of days, and nothing could save them now - especially not some magical floating compound in the ocean. But Callum, like many others, paid them no mind; it would be that many less mouths to feed at the Sanctuary if they were foolish enough to stay.

He sat there and stared out at the water, the city and the soot-coloured sky. He stared until the city blended itself into the land, and then watched as the land blended itself into the sea. And even as the sky began to blend into the now inky water as the faint sun made its descent, Callum stared outwards to the horizon.

It was quite peaceful there, in a little space to himself where he could sit and wait until they arrived at their destination. For the first time in weeks he heaved a huge sigh of relief. After all the work and the waiting it had taken to get him to this point, all the warnings he’d ignored and the uncertainty he’d faced, he had finally made it. Soon, the _Ocean’s Pearl_ would reach the Sanctuary, and he would finally be safe. 

All he had to do now was wait.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's chapter one! I wrote this a long time ago while i was getting a hang on my writing style so hopefully I can keep Callum's character suitably consistent but I'm honestly really excited for this one. Constructive criticism is always welcome (please, I'm begging u)
> 
> If you want, come find me on Tumblr! @pride-of-persephone


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